If anyone’s on the fence: hell yes these are good. Probably the best fantasy writing you’ll encounter anywhere. Massive in scope, beautiful prose, dark and literary and philosophical and awesome, occasionally funny as hell.

There’s ten brick-thick volumes in the original series, and they are not crispy popcorn reads; they’ll take a bit of investment of time and energy, but they pay off enormously once you get hooked in. It’s an emotional rollercoaster; it will alternately swell your heart to bursting then stomp on it when you’re not ready, and it will leave you wrung out like a rag. And if you thought GRRM was a bastard to his characters, hold onto your hat.

Trigger warning: everything. Every damn thing. Including that, and that. If you’re at risk of someone ruining your week with a harrowing representation of… just about anything… then you may want to tread carefully.

Personally I enjoyed the hell out of the original ten by Erikson; the separate set by Ian Clare Esselmont… I’m sure are great, but ICE just doesn’t have the writing chops that Erikson does.

I’ve read through the series a few times, and honestly I’m a little burnt out; I don’t think I have the strength to go back there again. But my god, it’s one hell of a trip.

Stupidly worth it at the price. There’s a whole lotta book here.

Get.